Re: Ron Kathrens comment on indoor radon concentrations

[muckerheide@highway1.com (James Muckerheide)]

Schoenhofer wrote:
> 
> At 15:29 27.01.1997 -0600, you wrote:
> >........................................................
> 
> "How do indoor radon measurements/correlations get affected by snow cover/soil
> >moisture? :-)   This kind of unscientific rationalization pervades the
> >questions and questioners of Bernie's (and others') rigorously,
> >scientifically-developed, results. Others pick up such pejorative "questions"
> >and treat them as serious scientific questions and even uncertainties,
> >supporting the linear model campaign to raid the public purse."
> >
> >It is well known that snow cover and soil moisture affect outdoor airborne
> >radon concentrations; I daresay the effect on indoor levels has not been
> >well studied.  The question is legitimate; it is unquestionably not
> >"unscientific rationalization".
> ............................................................
> 
> I do not want to comment on the very topic, but only on your comment
> repeated above.
> 
> The effect of snow cover, soil moisture, frozen soil, wind speed, wind
> direction, air temperature etc. (environmental factors) on the indoor radon
> levels exists. Studies are going on in Europe. It has probably not yet been
> studied extensively, but the influence of these environmental factors may
> change the indoor radon concentration by orders of magnitude. Depending on
> the circumstances there are houses, which show higher radon concentrations
> in summer than in winter.
> 
> These effects cannot be neglected. Nature is extremely complex and
> complicated and one has to consider all possible effects - this is
> legitimate and cannot be denied beforehand.

They are real.  But they are irrelevant to the issue of lung cancer
correlations with measured indoor radon (unless a bias of the time of
measurement is claimed, in which case it would need to be consistent in
direction, i.e., consistently measured at times when moisture is
low/high affecting a consistent bias to the average). 

Even if this were the case, which was not claimed, to be significant to
Dr. Cohen's results, it would then have to correlate with increasing
radon concentration, and be VERY large to affect the results of Bernie
Cohen's analysis.

> Franz
> Schoenhofer
> Habichergasse 31/7
> A-1160 WIEN
> AUSTRIA/EUROPE
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> e-mail:         schoenho@via.at

Regards, Jim Muckehreide
jmuckerheide@delphi.com